Serie A side Roma are stepping up their chase to sign Leicester City star Riyad Mahrez, after having their initial offer of around €30m turned down.

The 26-year-old - who won the PFA Player of the Year award in 2016 for his heroics in the Foxes wildly-improbable league title win - is widely tipped to leave the King Power Stadium this summer, after handing in a transfer request.

According to reports from Football Italia, Roma sporting director Monchi has backtracked on his earlier statement that the club hadn't changed their approach to signing the player, and has now sanctioned an improved offer of €35m for the Algerian.

Mahrez is believed to be desperate for a new challenge, and a move to the resurgent Italian league could be an ideal choice for the forward.

Roma appear dead set on bringing Mahrez to the club, as they look to follow up on their excellent 2016/17 Serie A campaign - where the side lost out on the title by just four points to serial winners Juventus.

The club are thought to be willing to smash their current transfer record, which was for Argentine ace Gabriel Batistuta in 2000, for a fee at the time worth around £23m.

The Italian side remain the bookies' favourites to sign the talented forward. However, a number of other sides (most notably Arsenal) are also interest in the fast dribbling attacking maestro.

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